Monday Must-Haves | Hydration Game
“Chellie, stop comparing yourself to other people!” I can’t tell you how many times per week I hear this, but it’s hard when you’re the comparison queen. I’m always comparing + never feel I measure up… Except when I compare myself to who I was at this time last year. It makes me sad to see pictures of how unhappy + unhealthy I looked + to think about how poor of choices I was making. At some point in college I stopped being able to eat whatever I wanted + not have it affect my weight too astronomically, but I still continued to eat like that. I had a million tumblers (SPOILER ALERT: That’s what this post is about!), but they were always filled with juice, pop or coffee. The only time you’d ever catch me drinking water willingly was if I was working out + even then, it was only if I didn’t have a Cool Blue Gatorade (the best flavor) at my disposal. I think I always resented it because growing up, dad never let us have pop + when he would, it had to be caffeine free. As an adult, I get it. Kind of. But I always felt left out when my cousins or friends could have something I couldn’t.
I think I started amassing tumblers in college. I’m sure I had a few prior, but I finally got my hands on a coveted Dominican tumbler second semester of my junior year. Unfortunately, I’m embarrassed to say “coveted” because it broke + I can’t even remember what it looked like. Then for my 22nd birthday I received an adorable Minnie Mouse tumbler from my friend Tory. Minnie is her girl so I’m honored to have received it since she could have easily kept it for herself. But that unassuming Minnie Mouse cup was very kind to me for a long time + carried many beverages for me… most I shouldn’t have been drinking in the locations or at the time of day I was drinking them, but if I sat around regretting all of my past mistakes, no one would read this. Needless to say I haven’t done that in a long time.
Over the next four years many tumblers have come my way. I bought a cute pink + white chevron print cup that reads “Princesses need saving, queens get $%#! done.” from Walgreens of all places two years ago when I started my job. I would force myself to finish one of this cup full of water every day + when I say force, I honestly mean force. The poor cup was only 16 oz + getting that much water down over the course of a seven hour shift at a desk in an office building was almost too much for me some days. But I still continued collecting cups. The queen cup has since been retired + brought home. My desk currently holds three tumblers + one water bottle but I only actually use this adorable tumbler from my girl Kate Spade. It’s perfect for my desk as I have almost the entire Strike Gold collection of desk needs from Miss Spade. One day I’ll show you my Kate Spade-inspired desk, but for now you’ll have to use your imagination. But my favorite cup is 20 oz + I fill that baby up AT LEAST four times a day. I rock the hydration game! I also rock the “I need to go to the restroom” game, but it is what it is.
I always have a water bottle with me in my car as well. It doubles as my workout water bottle as I’m always forgetting to bring an extra one to my Zumba classes or on days I go to the gym (most days I’m home doing Beachbody On Demand). The one I currently have riding shotgun with me I got for free for spending way too much at Pink. What else is new?
It’s just rare to find me without my own water or for asking for something other than water (except coffee) to drink when I’m out. If I EVER ordered water out before December, I was either really thirsty or someone else was paying for my meal. There was no reason anyone needed to support my Vanilla Coke addiction. Let me tell you, it was bad. I couldn’t go a day without it. But since cutting it out of my life completely along with all other pop, my life has drastically improved. Cutting out pop contributed to the first 40 pounds I lost. They tell you water does wondrous things for your skin. Well I’ll be honest with you, in eight months I haven’t seen much of an improvement in my skin due to a much increased water intake but the weight loss is definitely proof enough. Water’s important, guys! Do your body a favor + go have a glass of water. Put some lemon or cucumber or maybe even mint in a pitcher + drink it that way if you have trouble drinking it like I did. Choose health + choose you!
xo.
